Sources of Strength
Places of Grace are areas of enlightenment, sources of strength, where searching people can let themselves be oriented and inspired. Such places of strength can be found all across the earth. They are open to everybody and concentrate on the spiritual well-being.
Everybody is welcome to visit the Place of Grace in Dozwil, independent of their religious orientation. There is no membership or financial commitment. The personal freedom of everyone is fully respected. Each can draw strength according to his wishes and needs.
A characteristic feature of every Place of Grace is its spiritual life. That means the care of the inner personality as well as the unity of body, spirit and soul.
The individual development is bound to personal discipline: positive attitude to life, fostering positive thinking, inner contemplation, altruism, leading to a life-affirming everyday life with its sunny and shady sides.
History of Origins
Paul Kuhn, the vegetable gardener of Dozwil, was and always stayed a seeker of spiritual truth, even through difficult times. In the Coué method he found a way of self-fulfilment through positive thinking. He was able to overcome his big inhibitions and at the age of 42 he began to work as a Coué instructor, giving public lectures. The basic formula of the Coué method states: «Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better». Paul Kuhn complemented this formula with the Christian approach: «…because the divine powers work within me».
Paul Kuhn taught the people to fill the soul with positive thoughts and to make our daily life more life-affirming and successful. For him an important means for inner development was the meditative relaxation (in german) of the body, the spirit and the soul. To harmonious background music, he spoke words which help to relax the body and help to achieve a rich gratification of the soul.
At his courses he met Maria Gallati, who had had many mystic experiences until God called her as his instrument. Thanks to her consent, Paul Kuhn experienced the great biblical miracle: St. Michael spoke to him through the mouth of this gifted woman. St. Michael instructed him in spiritual teaching, led and guided him. In the Book of Daniel, Chap. 12, the work of St. Michael was prophesised for the times we live in.
In the same way, the apostle to the nations, St. Paul, was prepared for his apostolic ministry by the Holy Spirit, after his Damascus-epiphany in the desert of Arabia. By speaking through the mouth of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit worked in the miracle of Pentecost and then time and time again through exceptionally gifted people in the Early Christian Church. In the Acts of the Apostles we can read regarding the sending of the Apostles in Antioch: «…the Holy Spirit said to them: Separate me Saul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I have taken them. Then they, fasting and praying, and imposing their hands upon them, sent them away.»
History of origins and milestones of the Place of Grace
St. Michael: History of origins (pdf)
St. Michael: History of origins in keywords (pdf)
1962
Paul Kuhn educates himself as a Coué-instructor and starts to give his first public talks.
1964
PPaul Kuhn experiences his first supernatural incident: During a relaxation exercise his spirit is transported to heavenly spheres through a bright light-channel coming out of the cosmos.
Paul Kuhn encounters Maria Gallati at a class-evening. Maria Gallati starts to see spiritually and to have supernatural apparitions.
1964 - 1988
Maria Gallati serves as a speaking-instrument for the Archangel Michael.
1964 - 1969
Paul Kuhn is being taught in spiritual matters by the Archangel Michael through the speaking-instrument Maria Gallati and receives revelations from heaven.
1965
The Archangel Michael asks «God’s instruments» to go on a journey to Garabandal/Spain, a village where Marian apparitions took place. There, the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to them and gives them orders: praying of the rosary, the building of the Marian grotto, which was built and consecrated in 1968 in Kuhn’s garden.
1966 - 1996
Paul Kuhn usually gave weekly public talks at different places in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. He tought the people a practical psychology, positive autosuggestion und relaxation, enlightens about his calling as God’s instrument, the origin of the Place of Grace with its supernatural incidents and teaches the people the early Christian faith.
1968 / 1969
The dominant churches give their view with the brochure «Wrong Prophets».
1966 - 1970
On Saturday evenings more and more people gather in Paul Kuhn’s private home.
1968
Paul Kuhn is given the task of building a church.
1970
Jesus Christ mystically ordains Paul Kuhn and Maria Gallati to the priesthood. 24. June – 24. December building of St. Michael’s church with 1.000 seats in Dozwil with the help of volunteer workers.
Mystical consecration of the church, first mass with Holy Communion on Christmas Eve.
1974
Foundation of the St. Michael’s Association as a registered association: «The association aims are the organisation, securing and promotion of the missionary activity on ecumenical basis in the service of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raffael and Uriel». There is no membership for church attendees! No church tax!
1975
Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Resch, parapsychologist from Innsbruck, looks into the Place of Grace on behalf of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference. His recommendation: The Catholic Church should make use of the teaching and the charisma from the Place of Grace.
1976
Acquisition of the restaurant Landhaus and conversion to a pilgrimage house.
1979
New construction of the House St. Michael in Dozwil as a guest house for pilgrims and visitors by the Bernet family. Inauguration in April.
1988
January 16th Maria Gallati dies. May 8th: climax of the May-riots in Dozwil.
1989
The associations own periodical publication «Benedicite» is issued for the first time in September. January 21st: Ulrich Aeberhard is ordained as priest by Paul Kuhn.
October 12th: The Swiss-German Bishops’ Conference requests the church goers to decide between the Catholic Church and the Place of Grace St. Michael.
1991
The video film «Guided by God» is published.
1994 - 1995
Public talks in Vienna, Bergamo, Stuttgart and Nuremberg.
1997
The foundation «Sfantul Mihail», a relief organisation for street children in Bucharest, is founded with the support of the St. Michael’s Association.
1998
The Place of Grace presents itself on the internet: st-michael.ch.
«The Socrates foundation for health, education and upbringing» is founded with support from the St. Michael’s Association. Aim and purpose: Planning and construction of a new Christian clinic for patients with severe diseases as well as promotion of natural medicine through research and development. stiftung-sokrates.ch.
1999
The video film «The Path to the Light» is released.
ab 2001
Public worship services in Swiss cities and towns. Intensified pastoral care for the youth and church camps for young people in Engadine.
2002
September 26: Paul Kuhn dies. A large congregation of mourners says farewell to the founder of the Place of Grace St. Michael. The Place of Grace is led on by Ulrich Aeberhard.
2003
February 8: Ulrich Aeberhard ordains Willy Bolliger and Thomas Graber to priests of the Place of Grace St. Michael.
September 30th: Ulrich Aeberhard dies. A large congregation of mourners says farewell to the leader of the Place of Grace St. Michael. The Place of Grace is led on by the priests Willy Bolliger and Thomas Graber in the same sense and spirit.
2005
Invitation of the population of the school and municipal authorities for orientation about the Place of Grace St. Michael and to visit the church. Thus begins a normalization of the relations between the Place of Grace and ecumenical contacts with other faith communities.
2006
On August 14th is the opening of the Pestalozzi school in Sulgen TG.
2007
Purchase of the house of Paulus by the St. Michaels association.
2012
Opening of the Sokrates Clinic in Güttingen TG in October.
Creation of the publishing house: St.Michael-Verlag.
In the period from 2012 to 2020, 7 books with the contents and history of the Place of Grace St. Michael have been published.
2014
Completion of the roof structure above the annex and the cloakroom.
2023
We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the priesthood of Willy and Thomas.
The Place of Grace St. Michael is open to all people without membership, irrespective of their origin, religion or citizenship.
On weekends and holidays, public masses with Rosary and the Eucharist are celebrated in the St. Michael’s church in Dozwil. Around 2.000 people, children and adults from Switzerland, Germany and Austria regularly attend the masses on weekends.
Retreats are offered to get to know the pearls from the Place of Grace und to brace oneself in the Christian faith.
Central Thoughts
Faith should enrich our whole life
• We experience our faith as great support for a meaningful day-to-day life.
• Joy is a source for health and a driving force for good deeds, seeing the commandments as signpost.
• Angels are our friends and helpers from the celestial world.
• Times of hardship and trials are a chance for proving yourself and for maturing.
Christ is the Son of God, our Redeemer and Saviour
«I am the way, the truth and the life», Christ says.
The Bible with the Old and New Testament provides our foundation and guideline.
Every world religion is a way to God
Thus, resulting in humility, modesty, respect and appreciation for people of different religions.
Ecumenism in one Spirit of God
By emphasising the various common statements of faith the ability and grace should grow which overcome the separation through love.
At this Place of Grace several thousand people from different denominations came together, willing to learn from each other in a respectful way.
The work of the Holy Spirit
«God’s Spirit blows when it wants to, where it wants to and how it wants to.»
The Place of Grace in Dozwil came into being with a powerful intervention from God, as the Archangel St. Michael revealed himself for many years on behalf of God. He proclaimed instructions, guidance and prophecies for all mankind. The prophecy, as stated in the Book of Daniel, was fulfilled: «And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.»
Mission and Instructions of Jesus Christ:
«Lead the people to my heart and to the heart of my Mother.»
More and more Protestants come to understand the important status of the Mother of Jesus. In the 20th century she appeared to many visionaries, to warn mankind out of great love of upcoming times of hardship and to direct them towards her Son.
The decisive message from Mary, Mother of Christ, is here and everywhere else the same: «Pray, repent, make sacrifices and visit the Holy Sacraments of the Altar.»
Attitude of the believers
We, who visit this Place of Grace, do not see ourselves as better than others. But we are astonished at the abundance of grace, wisdom and care which God provides for his children in this Place of Grace and in others around the earth.
A Place of Grace from God
Since time immemorial all religions and peoples have known cult sites, i.e. places which are connected to meaningful incidents and which to this day enjoy a special kind of reverence because many people are visiting them. The Bible knows many such sites. Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Christ was born in Bethlehem and died on the cross on Calvary close to Jerusalem. All Christian places of apparitions, whether world-famous or only locally known, enjoy great popularity and are considered as holy sites where prayers are heard with heavenly intensification. Paul always cited the passage from the Bible where God’s voice spoke to Moses from the burning bush: «Take off your shoes. For the place where you are standing is holy ground.»
For 24 years, the Archangel Michael spoke to Paul and at the same time to all believers at the Place of Grace St. Michael in Dozwil. Many times, the Holy Archangel St. Michael was able to renew the sacrament of penance with all believers and to grant the forgiveness of all regretted sins. All revelations conveyed the biblically testified teaching of Jesus, guidance to a spiritual life, a way to unite the Christian confessions and prophecies about the future of the whole world. The aim was and is the preparation to the second coming of the Lord in power and glory, which doesn’t mean, however, the end of the world.
The following quotes from revelations should awaken interest to find out more about the Place of Grace.
St. Michael says: «I say things in parables, in a spiritual language. Everyone who deserves to understand, will understand it correctly, according to the state of his soul. A revelation is like a source of water. If you cannot understand, the water goes away. The person then only has fragments of it all.»
Eligius said: «The most important thing is to have peace your own heart.»
«Only God knows when Christ will come again, not even we as God’s angels have this knowledge. But the one thing we know is that when the time is near, great spirits of God will be born on this earth. Prophets will come to prophesise and to proclaim. They will teach the people in a special manner.»
«The time is near. I repeat once more. Christ will come again. Judgement, however, is fulfilled day by day. Everyone judges himself already.»
«Now it depends on yourself to fashion your wedding gown. Cull your fruits so that you will not have to be ashamed and not be able to present anything.»
St. Michael: «You live in the end time. Jesus has taken his mother into heaven. He has crowned her and made her queen. The same Mother has repeatedly appeared on this earth.»
«God wants to cast you in a mould through these instruments of God, so that you become God’s children, God’s images.»
«This temple has been consecrated by Jesus Christ himself. Heavenly hosts were present. Heavenly hosts are present at each church service.»
«You might think: Why do we need to travel from far away to celebrate Holy Mass here? This house is full of grace. In this house of God the Blessed Mother of God and God’s angels do ministry.»
«You are a chosen people, when you are here and carry the blessings from here into the world.»
«Christ has created a lighthouse. What does Christ say? It shall shine out into the whole world.»
Jesus Christ himself consecrated this church that he wanted with angelic hosts and conferred priesthood to his instruments Paul and Maria. Thereby, the Place of Grace was entrusted with the highest good: Christ himself in the presence of his Eucharistic Body in the tabernacle and in the bloodless renewal of his sacrifice on the cross in every Holy Mass. When receiving Holy Communion, Jesus comes into the heart of every believer and wants to live in him.
When God’s instrument Maria died on January 16 1988, the Place of Grace entered a new phase. Matthew (Matthäus), as an instrument called by God and proved by Paul and Maria, took Maria’s place at Paul’s side. He received many revelations from heaven in the «God-led writing», while an archangel, a great saint, the Mother of God or even Jesus Christ, led his hand while he was listening to Paul’s sermon. He did not know what the heavenly spirit was writing through him. Thus, his prophet ministry was especially then a heavy burden to him whenever he had to read out revelations on behalf of heavenly orders which criticised the sins and transgressions among the believers. Just as Paul’s preaching was inspired by the Holy Spirit and done without any preparations, the same occurred with Matthew. Often, while leading the prayer of the Rosary, he heard the sermon with his spiritual ear in advance and was then able to repeat it out of his own accord during mass. During the last years it happened more and more often that sentence by sentence was prompted to him by God’s Angel, audible for himself and that he only needed to say the words with his mouth.
Years ago, St. Padre Pio gave him the instruction to lead back to the centre of Christianity and to ascribe importance to nothing other than the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Also, the revelations given to him in the guided-writing became rarer. We were told that we did not need new revelations, that we had received everything and that now the task was to humbly put into action what we’ve received. Already the Holy Archangel Michael repeatedly told us that, before the second coming of the Lord, we would need to get along without God’s instruments.
With Willy’s and Thomas’ ordination to priesthood, which Matthäus carried out on behalf of heaven, a new phase began at the St. Michael’s association. With the death of God’s instrument Matthäus on 30 September 2003, the prophecy that the congregation would have to get along without God’s instruments before the second coming of the Lord was fulfilled.
As priests of this mighty Place of Grace we care for the pastoral requirements of the believers with dedication. We and the many believers know that we are taken care of during each worship service by the intercessions and the spiritual ministry from our instruments of God, who are in heaven, and through the presence of many heavenly angels. The Place of Grace witnesses itself because the protection, the love and the power from God are there at all times and all may receive the blessings of grace in their hearts in overabundant fullness.
The Place of Grace shines into the world if we as humble Christians encounter all people without prejudices and are always prepared to serve the community imbued with the grace-rays of heaven and able to cope with life through self-awareness and the application of Paul’s teaching. The Place of Grace will be perfected if all graces and teachings given from heaven, together with all sacrifices made by the believers become an example, which can be imitated by many.
Thomas and Willy
The Assignments of the Place of Grace
The Work of St. Michael has received a variety of tasks from God which were completed with care and faith:
• The building of St. Mary’s Grotto
• The building of the church
• Praying the rosary
• Eucharistic mass, believing the real presence of Jesus Christ
• Living ecumenism with people from different denominations, working together.
Founding of works for the general public:
• Foundation for Romanian street children
• A school after the example of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, founded on Christian values (opening in 2006 pestalozzi-schule.ch)
• A clinic for the seriously ill in connection with academic medicine, Hahnemann’s homeopathy and alternative medicine
1. stage: 1998 Founding of the Socrates Foundation (stiftung-sokrates.ch)
2. stage: 2002 Opening of an ambulatory with a doctor and a music therapist
3. stage: 2008 building application for a modern and future-oriented clinic
4. stage: 2012 Opening the clinic, phase 1 (klinik-sokrates.ch)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who may attend the church services?
Everyone is welcome to attend all services as well as all of the other events. The monthly programme can be viewed here: Gottesdienste.
Do you have to become a member as a worshiper?
There is no membership at the Work of St. Michael. Thus, there is no church tax and no commitment in general. Everyone visits the place according to his needs. No one is committed to take part in rituals such as holy water, sign of the cross or genuflection.
How do you finance your work?
The major revenue source comes from church offerings. At the church exits, there are offering boxes where every visitor may or may not insert something at his own discretion. Additionally, there are occasional donations in the course of the year.
How is the Work of St. Michael organised?
The Work of St. Michael is a registered religious association according to Art. 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code. It is caritative-oriented and therefore tax-exempted. The twelve members of the association carry responsibility in a variety of organisational issues. The different areas of departments work independently and inform the whole board quarterly.
Any further questions?
Ask your questions directly >
You find answers to fundamental questions under Youth Work, keyword Answers »
If you have personal questions, concerns and needs, send us an e-mail: info(at)st-michael.ch.